For Jackson Culp, music isn’t just something you hear, it’s something you step into. Blending rock and roll with psychedelic ideas and cinematic storytelling, Culp is carving out a sound he calls “Vampire Rock,” a style rooted in emotion, imagination, and exploration. Something unique.

“For someone that’s discovering Jackson Culp for the first time,” he says, “I would describe him as a rock and roller at heart who is attempting to make sense of his questions through his psychedelic explorations.”

That sense of searching—of trying to understand both the world and himself, drives his latest album, ‘What Happened to the Skull Boy?’.

Culp’s new project didn’t come together overnight. Finished in early 2025, the album reflects years of growth, experimentation, and internal conflict. After releasing his 2023 EP ‘Everyone’s Favorite Vampire’, he set out to create something bigger—something that blended his wide range of influences with a more classic sound.

“I knew that I wanted to tap into a classic feel… while also maintaining this unique workflow that I discovered by working with myself,” he explains.

A key turning point came when he discovered Marvin Gaye and fell in love with the album ‘In Our Lifetime’. That influence, combined with songs written across different periods of his life, helped shape a project that feels both cohesive and deeply personal.

But ‘Skull Boy’ is more than just a collection of songs.. it’s a story.

“I started to imagine… what would happen if that person who was feeling that way was a character,” Culp says. “Then he met someone who kind of preyed on that feeling.”

The result is a narrative-driven album where emotion becomes a character, and vulnerability opens the door to something darker and more mysterious.

Themes of obsession and intensity run throughout some of Culp’s music, but he’s learned to approach them differently as he’s gotten older.

“I’ve always been someone who… when I get interested in something, I get really interested,” he says. “But being older now… I’m able to kind of have more of a balance in my life.”

Instead of being consumed by those feelings, he now studies them; turning them into stories and perspectives within his music. That shift is especially clear when comparing his past work to ‘What happened to Skull Boy?’

“This album is like, what happens when [angst] just disappears,” he explains. “You’re just feeling like you’re drifting along… and then this bigger force comes in.”

That idea is captured in one of the album’s standout lines:

“You were mysterious, you were dangerous, but you were caught in a dream. Now you’re caught in me.”

It’s a chilling reflection of power, manipulation, and the darker side of obsession. Truthfully, the side not often talked about.

Another shift in Culp’s evolution has been performing live with a band.

“I’d never done that before when I was recording music,” he says. “Now… I kind of knew more about how to add energy to the song.”

That live experience changed how he approached recording, pushing him toward a fuller, more dynamic sound. Instead of creating music in isolation, he began thinking about how it would feel in a room full of people.

That energy is now central to his artistic vision.

Culp’s songs often explore the tension between love and danger; a theme shaped by his upbringing.

“My mom is a divorce attorney and I’ve grown up in her law office,” he shares. “I don’t have rose-colored glasses about love.”

That perspective gives his music a grounded, sometimes unsettling honesty. Songs like “I Think She’s Gonna Kill Me” aren’t just dramatic, they’re meant to reflect real emotional extremes.

“The purpose was to just shine a light on that and to just say, this sort of thing happens,” he explains.

Though Culp doesn’t directly pull from traditional Louisiana music, the environment around him has had a powerful impact on his sound.

Late nights near his mother’s office, surrounded by animals, humidity, and dense, living nature, sparked the creativity behind the music.

“The nighttime here is intoxicating,” he says. “It feels like I am in something else’s world right now.”

That eerie, alive atmosphere shaped both the album’s tone and its imagery, inspiring lyrics about mystery, danger, and transformation.

Looking ahead, Culp wants his live shows to feel just as immersive as his music. With red lighting, fog, and layered instrumentation, he’s building an experience that pulls the audience into his world.

“I want people to tap into that… feeling of whimsy and wonder and being drawn into this unknown mystical world,” he says.

More than anything, he wants listeners to escape..to dream.

“I do want people to dream when they hear the music and it take them someplace else to ignite their imagination.”

With What Happened to the Skull Boy, Jackson Culp isn’t just making songs, he’s building a universe. One filled with obsession, transformation, and the strange beauty of the unknown.

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